Avoid these five bad practices to gain and maintain loyal customers.
You’ve probably heard tips about how to make more sales or gain more customers roughly as many times as you heard Urkel say ‘Did I do that?’ in the ‘90s.
While tips about what to do are great, it’s also important to understand what not to do. Here’s something you may not have heard yet: the things you could be doing to offend your customers. After all, the last thing you want is to gain a bad reputation and lose customers over silly things you could’ve easily changed.
Want to know what you’re doing wrong? Here are five surefire ways to offend your customers. Keep an eye out for these off-putting actions and nip them in the bud:
- Making assumptions
You know what happens when you assume? That’s right. Guessing someone’s budget, tastes, or reason for buying can put you in deep waters in a second. Ask enough of the right questions and you’ll get the information you need.
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Being annoyed
If a customer is slow and backs up the checkout line, or if they ask a lot of seemingly obvious questions, you can’t let an ounce of annoyance come to the surface. Once a customer can see your irritation, they’re much more likely to move on to another salesperson or, worse yet, a competitor.
- Not honoring loyalty
Yes, your oldest customers are your easiest sales. But you can’t let that stop you from giving them a great experience every time. Loyal, long-time customers should be treated with even greater respect and rewarded for their reliability.
- Bashing other businesses
You never know the connection your customer might have to the business you’re bashing. They may be an employee or regular customer; don’t risk offending them by talking badly about the competition. It’s a turnoff to customers new and old who, with other more pleasant options, might be inclined to never come back.
- Ignoring customers on social media
Social media can’t work unless you actually use it. Customers who try to interact with your brand are often offended by a lack of response. That being said, don’t abuse your posting power. No one wants to see meaningless updates every 30 seconds. Leave those to your ex-roommate.
Seen any other actions easily offend customers? Tweet @Fortegra to share!
